Valencia Spa Hotel with History: Las Arenas

Pamper yourself! Enjoy a weekend in the Sea View Junior Suite (aka Suite Malvarrosa) of the Spa Hotel Las Arenas right on top of Malvarrosa Beach. From the suite, you would have had a fantastic view for last week’s air show. But who really needs any outside distraction, when staying in the spa? The whole purpose is to forget out the outside world.

Everyone who’s visited Malvarrosa Beach has seen the hotel. But did you know that the two smaller buildings in front pre-date the hotel, and have been spas for decades? The beach didn’t use to be so wide, and the water nearly reached them.

Here some more information about the history of the Las Arenas hotel:

The hotel is located within the old Las Arenas SPA which dates back to the late XIX century and was a meeting point for the most select members of society. In those days the SPA offered its guests warm sea baths with waves, with surprising effects for sufferers of arthritis and injuries as well as neurological illnesses. In addition to the baths, the complex had swimming pools, a pavilion overlooking the sea which housed a restaurant, a summer cinema, dancing, swimming competitions, popular celebrations etc. In the afternoons and the in the evenings an orchestra would play music by the swimming pools and was one of the main attractions in Valencia during the summer season.

In the year 2002 building work on the New Hotel Las Arenas Health Spa Resort began. During that year all that remained was one of the two pillared buildings and the swimming pool, as the other identical building had been destroyed during the Spanish Civil War. The building that remained was fully restored and the other was rebuilt as a perfect replica of the original.

The Pool area dates back to 1933 and was completely restored during the original project, respecting the dimensions of the 33m long pool, as well as the children’s pool and sun terrace area. The famous old “Las Arenas” Trampoline was also restored.

Now, the entire pool area has been used to create a luxurious and modern spa, located around and underneath it, respecting the historical elements of the original spa both in the decoration as well as with the Antique marble pools and the famous poster designed by Renal for the grand opening.

Amongst the columnarios and the pool a four story building was constructed, which was to become the hotel. The building and decoration is classical in style, using only top quality materials imported from different countries. A clear example of this can be seen in the floors in the public areas of the building which are made entirely out of Italian Marble, or the marble in the Suites which was imported directly from China.

Another element that has been carefully restored is that of the indigenous flora which existed originally at the SPA. Prior to commencing the building work the plants had been painstakingly removed and transferred to a nursery and then replanted after the work had finished in order to regain the beautiful scenic landscapes. Amongst the species that have been saved are two very large Ficus, various Tamarinds or Tall palms. Antique marble baths from the SPA were also used during the landscaping as decorative features. This has meant that the Resort enjoys over 8000m2 of elegant gardens with spectacular views of Playa Las Arenas.

About Us

We're Jürgen and Mike, from Germany and the USA. We've been living in Valencia on-and-off since 2008. Much of our time is spent traveling the world with For 91 Days... but Valencia is the city we call home, and to which we'll always return.